Saving the Savior
by Mrs.Stockholm
Summary: Harry gets spun around and finds trouble. For once there's someone else to be the hero.


Summary: Sometimes being the Boy Who Lived put Harry in dangerous positions but without the scar he faced the same dangers as the rest of the world. Luckily, there are other heroes out there to save the day.

Disclaimer: I don't own the books or characters and I'll be just as broke when you're done reading this as I was before.

An: I debated this one but for some reason I liked it anyway. There's an allusion at the bottom to another fic I was going to write so feel free to ignore it or speculate or even write it for yourself.

* * *

It was Charlie's idea to put a glamour on. Harry hadn't been sure at first, it seemed a bit girlish, but with all the stares he got on his way to fetch water he changed his mind. And, really, he didn't look half bad he supposed.

He turned his head side to side, looking at his reflection every which way. Red hair and blue eyes, a pointed little nose with freckles from ear to ear. He gave the mirror a twist to catch Ron's reflection behind his own. You'd think they were brothers.

He handed the looking glass back to Ginny with a smile. "Thanks, Charlie, this will really help."

Charlie's heavy hand clapped his shoulder with an easy grin. "No problem, mate. We'll say you're a cousin on Mum's side. No one will think twice of it."

The flap of the tent lifted as Bill and Mr. Weasley entered and they both stopped to blink at Harry's new look.

"Could have sworn we only had six boys," Mr Weasley joked. "Well, one more can't hurt. Shall we head out?"

Harry felt his face heat and wondered if the glamour would cover the flush of red. Ron's arm slid over his shoulders and they went to collect the girls before the walk to the stadium.

* * *

It wasn't that Harry was afraid of being lost, really. It had happened before in London when Aunt Petunia had sent him to buy shirts in a shop down the street. He'd come back to the corner where she had been with Dudley and they'd already finished their ice creams and walked on to the next store.

He'd waited until a woman across the way began to look concerned before he tried to find them. He got spun around and it was nearly an hour before he ran into them on the corner a few streets up. Aunt Petunia scolded him for taking so long and then disappearing and she counted the change he brought her, but she gave him an ice cream cone and he almost got the feeling she'd been worried for him.

So it wasn't being lost that concerned him. It was all the people that were stressing him out.

He was flattening his fringe over his scar compulsively, hoping the Charlie's spellwork would last through the match at the least. He knew that they had seats in the third blue zone eight rows up but he had gone with the Bill and the twins to get food in the red zone and he wasn't sure anymore how far it was to get back.

He looked at the color coded pillar ahead and found it to be gold. Sighing in exasperation, he spun around and almost ran straight into a man standing there.

"Woah now, lad, steady."

A friendly voice chuckled as a hand on his arm kept him from falling over. Harry raised his eyes to find a slightly older man smiling at him with laughing eyes. "Alright there?"

Harry coughed and nodded in embarrassment. "Yes, thank you. Sorry for, uh, almost hitting you."

The man laughed again, a little much in Harry's opinion but then again they were selling more than butter beer at some of the stalls. "Nothing to it, nothing to it. Not to pry but you look a bit lost. Need a hand?"

Harry tensed, wondering how obvious he'd been. He looked at the man and realized they hadn't even shared names yet. "I'm fine, thank you. Just around the corner, actually."

The man's eyes grew more serious, more intense, and the hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled with unease. "Really? Me too. I can walk with you."

Harry smiled tightly, side stepping him casually. "I was headed to the bathroom. Thanks again. Hope you enjoy the game."

Before he could duck into the flow of passerby a hand landed in the crook of his elbow. "Hold on, I-"

A heavy form stepped into their bubble, cutting the stranger short. "Let go of him."

Harry's eyes jumped between the two men nervously. There was an intense stare down and Harry was no longer the focus of either of their attentions. Quickly, Harry reached his free hand around to twist the man's thumb back and away from his wrist. He yelped and let go as Harry jumped into the movement of people.

He didn't care which way he was headed or whether it would get him more lost or not. He slipped through the crowd until he was sure the stranger was too far to follow him and found a bathroom to catch his breath. It was empty, which seemed odd but not important.

He bent his head over the sink, panting, and threw water in his face. That had been…shit. He rubbed a hand over his face to swipe the water away and looked at his reflection. He realized then that he looked younger. Ten or eleven where he'd thought he seemed thirteen or so. It had been a good idea, really, to not look his age. There was no way Charlie could have known, but…

The door swung open and Harry jumped. He turned, pressing his back into the sink, and stared at the newcomer while trying not to look scared. The man who had stepped in to save him.

He relaxed partially, but his heart continued to hammer in his chest.

The man stared at him angrily, intense eyes sweeping over him the way Madam Pomfrey's did as if daring him to try to hide an injury. Except Harry trusted her.

"Are you hurt?"

Harry shook his head, not that the man looked any more convinced. Harry cleared his throat roughly and tried to reassure him with words. "'M fine. Startled but not a scratch."

This seemed like a better answer. The man's arms crossed over his chest grumpily and he eyed Harry another minute longer. "You should have someone with you."

Suddenly, that seemed absurdly humorous. "Really? I'd have never guessed."

The man's eyes narrowed in what looked like annoyance before growing more thoughtful. "You are older than you look."

Harry shrugged. He was quickly growing tired after his escapade and he had yet to find out where the hell he was going. He didn't want to be ungrateful, but-

"You are also still lost."

He blinked dumbly. Well…Yes. "Er..."

The man waved a hand and turned to leave. "Follow."

Despite the common sense that told him not to, Harry jogged after him. They wove between people easily and Harry did his best to keep up as it became obvious that this man was not used to waiting for others to keep pace.

"You don't even know where I want to go," he complained.

The man threw a look out of the corner of his eye and his lips pressed in annoyance. "In this direction is red. Where are your parents?"

Harry had an insane urge to be incredibly rude by saying, 'Dead.' Instead, he fell back on the Charlie's story and said his uncle was in the blue seats.

The man nodded and they continued walking at a swift pace against the flow of the crowd.

Not quite uncomfortable with the silence but curious, Harry wanted to know something about his…savior guy. "So…Where are you from?"

Another look from the corner of his eye, this one surprised and annoyed.

"Your accent," he explained. "It's not from here. Where are you from?"

The man's lips pressed together in irritation. "….Poland."

Harry's brow raised in surprise. He hadn't been expecting anything in particular, but Poland seemed interesting. "Are you a Goblins fan then?"

The man grunted with a twitch that may have been a nod or a denial. "Why do you ask of the Goblins? Why not the Jobberknolls or the Bashers?"

Harry shrugged easily. "The Goblins have Wronski."

There was a deep sigh and the man shook his head. "He is retired."

"He's only twenty four, he could make a comeback. They papers say he's thinking about it."

The man scoffed while making a disbelieving face of annoyance. "The papers! The papers say anything and everything they _do_ say is a lie."

Harry found himself smiling and trying not to chuckle. "So then you're not a Wronski fan? Shame, he's in my top ten."

The man's head tilted in question as they made it towards the first of the blue pillars. "My friends and I have lists of the people we'd most like to meet across time. Wronski is my number three behind Godric Gryffindor and the muggle scientist Einstein."

The man laughed quietly. "Is that so? I would think a boy you age would have grown up admiring Harry Potter as much as a Quidditch star."

Harry fought the urge to scowl or roll his eyes. "Yeah, well, I've met him. He's way more normal than the Prophet makes him out to be."

This made the stranger bob his head in agreement. He stopped in front of the first of the blue pillars and Harry paused, not sure how to proceed.

"Well, I think Harry Potter would be on my list if I had one," The man said. "After, of course, he has grown up."

Harry quirked his head in confusion. "Why do you say that?"

The man shrugged and waved a hand vaguely. "I would not think there is much he has to say about what happened when he was a baby, but I do not think You Know Who is done with him yet. I wonder what he has to say about this."

Harry shifted uncomfortably, knowing how true that was and also wondering how many other people had those doubts. The man winced and leaned his weight away from Harry looking chagrined. "This is a heavy thought. I should not have bothered a young boy with my ideas. From here you can find your way?"

Harry nodded and shook the man's hand. "Yes, thank you for everything. I hope you're wrong, but maybe one day you'll get to meet Potter and find out."

The man nodded peacefully. "Yes, and maybe the rumors will come true and Wronski will come out of retirement. Who knows, maybe you could meet him too. It would be no stranger than Potter and I."

Harry laughed and stepped back towards the stands. "Yeah, I guess it wouldn't. Thanks again. Enjoy the rest of the match."

The man inclined his head and slunk away into the crowd as Harry turned and made to find the Weasleys.

Hermione spotted him first and nearly took down the people in on the end of the row as she latched onto him. Mr. Weasley and the others were visibly relieved and Harry immediately sought to sooth their worries.

"I'm fine," he said. "I got a little spun around."

This only made Ginny more upset with him, but Harry quickly made to cover his bases. "Someone helped me find my way." Which was not a lie, but not the full truth either. "Can we please just not tell Mrs. Weasley?"

And that was enough to make them focus and they all agreed that since Harry wasn't hurt it could stay a secret among them. And the rest was Harry's own secret for himself.

Until, of course, it wasn't.


End file.
